New Mexico is one of several states looking at offering consumers a government-sponsored plan. The proposals would typically have benefits similar to what is available in Medicaid, the state-federal health plan for low-income people.

As calls for “Medicare-for-all” grow louder among Democrats in Congress, Democratic governors and mayors have been pushing ahead with urgency to corral medical costs and bring health care to those who remain uninsured.

“Medicare-for-all” has become the rallying cry for Democrats in the new Congress. But there is a long list of other ways to increase insurance coverage. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to chip away at the Medicaid program for the poor, and new rules could mean higher costs for individual health insurance in 2020. Alice Ollstein of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week.

A federal district judge in Texas ruled Friday that Congress’ 2017 elimination of the tax penalty for failing to have insurance rendered the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. What happens now? KHN’s Julie Rovner, along with panelists Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, discuss the bombshell decision and its potential fallout.